The parents of a 3-year-old deaf boy from Nebraska say his preschool told them he must change the way he signs his name because it looks like a finger-pistol, but the school says the family has their signals crossed.

The family of pre-schooler Hunter Spanjer said officials at the Grand Island Public Schools told them the manner in which the boy signs his name is a violation of its “weapons in school” policy. The claim they were told Hunter had to modify the way he signs his moniker to comply with the school’s zero tolerance code against weapons in school.

“Anybody that I have talked to thinks this is absolutely ridiculous,” Hunter’s grandmother, Janet Logue, told KGIN. “This is not threatening in any way.”

Brian Spanjer, the boy’s father, said the sign is a registered symbol with the Signing Exact English system. The encouragement and support his family has received since reports of the controversy have surfaced has been “amazing,” he said.